BENGALURU: Lending more grist to talk that the JDS is leaning towards the BJP, former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday refused to attack the government on the price rise by saying “it is wrong to make allegations against one another to gain political mileage.”
Terming price rise as a “continuous process”, the JDS leader asked the State Government to use the revenue generated from levying cess and taxes of fuel and other products, to rebuild the lives of the poor who are battered by both inflation and the Covid-19 pandemic.
During a debate on price rise in the Assembly, he said, “It is wrong to make allegations against one another to gain political mileage. We should look at what can be done to help the poor,” he said. Kumaraswamy also said he will not insist on a resolution in the House — as suggested by Opposition leader Siddaramaiah— to appeal to the Union Government to reduce taxes on fuel. Siddaramaiah had demanded that the State Government cut taxes on fuel. Many states, including Tamil Nadu, have cut taxes on fuel.
“It is not just a BJP government… it is our government representing 6.5 crore Kannadigas. I urge Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to make best use of the revenue generated to rebuild the lives of the weaker sections affected by Covid-19 and price rise,” he added. Asking Karnataka to become a model for the entire country, he urged the State Government to announce a special package of Rs 25,000 each to about 55 lakh affected families.
Kumaraswamy also demanded that the government drop populist schemes, including ‘Amrith’, to come to the rescue of the affected. Citing the CAG report, he slammed the State Government for borrowing Rs 48,499 crore during 2019-20 for development works.
Meanwhile, what was more surprising was that a senior Congress leader too was sympathetic towards
the State Government. Former speaker Ramesh Kumar said that any one party or the government cannot be blamed for the price rise. “All of us are responsible for privatisation of essential services which is benefiting traders. These traders are those who give money for parties. It is inter-linked.
There is no point in blaming one party or government,” he said. “Those who are speaking here (MLAs) should reveal their property details that were filed during polls. The price hike will not affect them. Gone are the days when MLAs used to voice common people’s concerns. Just 30 years ago, hardly a few MLAs used to come in cars… the remaining in cycles or buses. But now, they come in Audis… what can you expect from them,” he rued.
